What:
Albert Einstein says “I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they learn” (source). Educators consistently complete the same repetitive cycle every year becoming comfortable with their process and fearing change. I often say it’s a rinse and repeat process because everything is exactly the same this school year as it was last school year and the year before that and the year before that, etc. Getting a solid plan for your classroom is not a bad thing, however, teaching the exact same content the exact way for five or even twenty years is not providing the best conditions for students to learn.
Why:
Think of the pencil. At one point in history, the pencil was emerging technology. Pencils themselves date back to 1564 but William Monroe made America’s first pencil in 1812 (source). Until this point in history, chalk was mainly used in the classroom. Educators at this point in history had to embrace this new technology and change their teaching methods in order to accept this new tool (source). Since then, emerging tools have allowed the classroom to change drastically including the introduction of ballpoint pens, whiteboards, overhead projectors, projectors, desktop computers, smartboards, laptops, and finally tablets. This is definitely not an exhaustive list but hits the high points of emerging technology in the last one hundred years.
Dr. Micah Shippee talks about this in his book, WanderlustEDU. His call to action is that education is a journey and educators must not fear innovation or change but should openly accept change and should create an environment that is conducive to the learners they currently have in their classrooms.
Can you imagine if educators refused to accept the pencil? The same is true for classrooms today. Educators should not fear change but should welcome new tools into their classrooms. I do not mean educators should accept every single technology tool that is a trend for the moment. I mean that educators should be open to and accept new methods of teaching and new technology tools that have been researched and proven to work successfully. For more information on this concept, check out Dr. Shippee’s book WadnerlustEDU: an educator’s guide to innovation, change, and adventure.
Next Steps
Interested in learning more? Check out the websites below for great information.
References:
All sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
TLDR (too long didn’t read):
Albert Einstein says “I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they learn” (source). Educators consistently complete the same repetitive cycle every year becoming comfortable with their process and fearing change. I often say it’s a rinse and repeat process because everything is exactly the same this school year as it was last school year and the year before that and the year before that, etc. Getting a solid plan for your classroom is not a bad thing, however, teaching the exact same content the exact way for five or even twenty years is not providing the best conditions for students to learn.
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